Method and apparatus for monitoring the operation of tobacco processing machines or the like

ABSTRACT

The operation of parts or groups of parts in discrete machines or groups of cooperating machines for the treatment, processing and/or transport of plain or filter-tipped smokers&#39;&#39; products and/or their components is monitored by discrete detectors. The detectors produce signals in response to detection of malfunctions of the respective parts or groups of parts. Such signals are utilized to stop one or more machines as well as to operate circuits or devices which count and record the number of malfunctions of each part or group of parts within a selected period of time, and which also record the length of intervals of idleness of one or more machines as a result of malfunctioning of each part or group of parts as well as the ratio of intervals of idleness to the length of a selected period, such as a day&#39;&#39;s shift or a week.

United States Patent 1191' Lorenzen 1451 Feb. 19, 1974 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR MONITORING THE OPERATION OF TOBACCO PROCESSING MACHINES ORTHE LIKE [75] Inventor: Heinz-Christen Lorenz/en, Hamburg,

Germany [73] Assignee: Hauni-Werke Korber & Co. KG,

Hamburg, Germany [22] Filed: Mar. 17, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 125,266

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 19, 1970 -Germany P 20 13078.3

[52] US. CL... 235/151.13, 131/21 R, 235/92 QC, 235/92 PD, 340/213 [51]Int, Cl G06I 15/36, (1106f 15/46 [58] Field oi'Search ..235/92 QC,92PD,92 PC, 235/15l.13, 151, 151.3, 150; 131/21 R,2l A,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,344,408 9/1967 Singer etal 235/92 PD 3,470,424 9/1969 Flesselles et a1. 131/21 R 2,985,3685/1961 Kohler et al 235/92 PD 3,534,225 10/1970 Poupin 131/21 R2,207,715 7/1940 Bumstead 235/92 PD 3,324,458 6/1967 MacArthur 340 17253,578,960 5 1971 Georgi et al. 235 92 oc 3,599,198 8/1971 Harrell 340267 3,660,972 5 1972 Neill et a1. 235/92 PD 3,670,147 6 1972 Wright235/92 PD 3,672,373 6/1972 Dog] 6! a]. 235 151.3 3,694,630 9 1972 Dybel235 92 PD FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 219,148 7 1957 Australia .1235/92 PD Primary ExaminerFelix D. Gruber Attorney, Agent, orFirmMichael S. Striker [5 7] ABSTRACT The operation of parts or groupsof parts in discrete machines or groups of cooperating machines for thetreatment, processing and/or transport of plain or filter-tipped smokersproducts and/or their components is monitored by discrete detectors. Thedetectors produce signals in response to detection of malfunctions ofthe respective parts or groups of parts. Such signals are utilized tostop one or more machines as well as to operate circuits or deviceswhich count and record the number of malfunctions of each part or groupof parts within a selected period of time, and which also record thelength of intervals of idleness of one or more machines as a result ofmalfunctioning of each part or groupof parts as well as the ratio ofintervals of idleness to the length of a selected period, such as a daysshift or a week.

25 Claims, 26 Drawing Figures FATENTEDFEB 19 m4 3.7935 2 saw 03 0F 12 Il/Ml 0, 0 Man): an

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HTTORNEV PNFHTEUFEBIS 1974 3,793,512

sum 0? ar 12 New: wmm 60454250 HTTOKNE) METHOD AND APPARATUS FORMONITORING THE OPERATION OF TOBACCO PROCESSING MACHINES OR THE LIKEBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to themanufacture and/or processing of smokers products, such as plain orfilter cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos, and more particularly toimprovements in a method and apparatus for supervising the operation ofone or more processing units in such machines or in groups of suchmachines; Still more particularly, the invention relates to a method andapparatus for automatically supervising the operation of essential orcritical processing units or assemblies in machines or groups ofmachines which are used for the making, treatment and/or transport oftobacco leaves, tobacco shreds, wrappers for tobacco filler rods,filters for cigarettes, cigars or the like, packs for cigarettes or thelike, and cartons or other containers for packs of cigarettes or thelike.

The trend in the tobacco processing industry is toward therationalization of operation by employing highly sophisticated automaticor semiautomatic machines and groups of machines which are capable ofturning out large quantities of products per unit of time and which aredesigned to segregate defective products or defective components ofproducts from satisfactory products. Interruptions in the operation ofsuch automatic high-speed machines are very undesirable be cause even ashort-lasting interruption or slowdown of operation results in extremelylarge losses in output. For example, if a modern filter cigarette makingmachine which turns out as many as 4,000 filter cigarettes per minuteremains idle for a period of 5 minutes, the loss in output amounts tomore than 20,000 cigarettes since the output of such machine during theinterval of acceleration from zero speed to normal operating speed iswell below maximum output. Furthermore, in many such machines, thearticles which are produced immediately after starting must be discardedfor a variety of reasons, for example, due to drying of adhesive whichis used to unite plain'cigarettes with simple or multiplex filter plugsof unit length or multiple unit length.

On the other hand, it is unavoidable that a high-speed automatic machinewhich embodies a very large number of complex parts and assemblies ofparts will fail to operate properly from time to time so that its primemover must be arrested in order to allow for safe inspection and rapidelimination of the cause or causes of malfunction. The likelihood ofrecurring malfunction is even greater when two or more complex automaticmachines are directly coupled to each other to form a production linewherein components of smokers products are subjected to a large numberof successive treatments. For example, it is already known to employproduction lines wherein a cigarette rod making machine is directlycoupled with a filter cigarette making machine which, in turn, isdirectly coupled with a tray filling machine or with a packing machine.It is also known to provide such production lines with an automaticcontrol system which regulates the operation of one or more machines independency on the operation of another machine or machines. Thus, thespeed of a filter cigarette making machine is normally regulated toconform to the operating speed of a machine which produces plaincigarettes and is directly coupled with the filter cigarette makingmachine. Also, the speed of a packing machine for-plain or filtercigarettes is normally regulated as a function of the operating speed ofthe machine which supplies plain or filter cigarettes to such packingmachine. The persons in charge of such production lines are normallycalled upon to supervise the automatic operation of machines and torapidly eliminate the causes of malfunction in order to reduce theintevals of idleness to a minimum.

It was found that certain processing units or assemblies of machines insuch complex production lines are more likely to malfunction than otherunits, and it is customary to employ detectors which monitor theoperation of certain sensitive or critical processing units in order tomake sure that the respective machine or machines are arrested inautomatic response to detection of malfunction before the malfunctioncan cause excessive losses in output and/or damage to the parts of therespective machine or machines. Though trained to eliminate theimmediate cause of certain malfunctions (for example, pileups ofcigarettes or like rod-shaped articles), the persons in charge are oftenunable to determine and to eliminate the basic cause or causes ofunsatisfactory operation so that the malfunctions occur again and againwith attendant losses in output and potential serious damage to themachines, i.e., a damage which may necessitate a prolonged interruptionof operation. Furthermore, the elimination of causes of malfunctionand/or the length of interval of idleness of a complete production linedue to the malfunction of a single processing unit depends entirely onthe skill and conscientiousness of the personnel. For example, anattendant might be likely not to report repeated malfunctions of certainprocessing units if such malfunctions are due to unauthorized absenceand/or improper repair work.

It is already known to record the intervals of idleness of a cigaretterod making machine. Reference may be had to German printed publicationSer. No. 1,195,655 which discloses a system serving to record theperiods of idleness and to compare the sum of such periods with theperiods of actual operation or with the duration of theoreticallyattainable maximum periods of operation. A drawback of such system isthat it does not indicate the nature of malfunctions which were thecause of stoppage of the machine and/or of the loss in output. It isfurther known to monitor the operation of a cigarette rod making machineto determine the output and deviations of actual output from a desiredoutput. Systems for carrying out such monitoring operations aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,147,370 and 3,259,746. A drawback of suchproposals is that the person in charge of evaluatingthe recordedinformation is unable to determine the causes of malfunction ofparticular processing units and/or the frequency of malfunctioning of aparticular processing unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide anovel and improved method of recording the nature, frequency andduration of malfunctions of one or more processing units or assembliesin automatic machines or groups of machines for the manufacture ofsmokers products.

Another object of the invention is to provide a comprehensive (allembracing) method of monitoring or supervising the operation of one ormore processing units or assemblies in tobacco processing or likemachines in such a way that the results of the monitoring operationcannot be influenced by attendants so that the results can beobjectively evaluated to determine the basic causes of malfunctions andto facilitate rapid elimination of such causes with attendant reductionsin repair work and increases in output.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method according towhich the monitoring of one or more processing unit in one or morerelatively simple or complex machines for the processing of tobacco,filter material, wrapping material, packing material and othercommodities which must be treated, transported and/or otherwisemanipulated in connection with the manufacture of smokers productsresults in the provision of a permanent record which can be evaluated onthe spot or by persons or apparatus at any desired distance from themonitored processing units.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a method ofmonitoring the operation and of recording malfunctions of processingunits in machines or groups of machines which are used to treat tobaccoleaves, fragments of tobacco leaves, streams and rods of tobacco shreds,webs or tapes of wrapping material for tobacco filler rods, plain orfilter-tipped cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos or cheroots, packs, cartonsor bales of such rod-shaped articles and tobacco leaves, filtermaterial, filter rods and filter rod sections which are used for themaking of filter-tipped smokers products, printing ink, adhesive,coloring matter, agents which are used for curing of tobacco, trays orchargers for rodshaped tobacco-containing articles, and/or othercommodities which are manipulated in connection with the manufacture ofsmokers products.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a single machine ora group of machines for the processing of tobacco, filter material andrelated commodities with a novel monitoring or supervising apparatuswhich can detect faulty operation of one or more processing units,initiate the stoppage of affected machine or machines, and produce afull record of the number, origin and duration of malfunctions, forevaluation by competent persons or computers to thus insure rapiddetection and effective elimination of basic causes of each malfunction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a supervising ormonitoring apparatus which can be built into or combined with manyexisting machines or groups of machines for automatic processing oftobacco and/or related commodities.

Another object of the invention is to provide a supervising ormonitoring apparatus whose accuracy cannot be influenced by attendantsand which can be designed to monitor the operation of any desired numberof processing units in a single machine or in a production line which iscomposed of two or more discrete machines.

An additional object of the invention is to provide the monitoringapparatus with detectors which are especially suited to scan theoperation of selected processing units and with recording means whichcan record two or more types of information, depending on the complexityof the machines and on the desired outlay for the construction of themonitoring apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to provide a monitoring apparatuswhich can be used to objectively evaluate the carefulness, skill andother qualities of attendants and which can be resorted to for insuringrapid elimination of basic causes of recurring malfunctions of one ormore sensitive processing units in machines for the treatment of tobaccoor related commodities.

One feature of the invention resides in the provision of a method ofsupervising one or more processing units which are prone to malfunctionand constitute components (especially important essential or criticalcomponents) of machines for the treatment of tobacco and/or othercommodities which are employed in the manufacture (including making,testing, packing and transporting) of smokers products, such as plain orfilter cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos and the like. The method comprisesthe first step of automatically monitoring the operation of one or moreprocessing units to detect their malfunctions, and the second step ofautomatically counting and recording the number of the detectedmalfunctions.

When the method is employed for supervision of complex machines whichcomprise two or more important or essential processing units and/or forsupervision of entire production lines consisting of two or moredirectly or indirectly coupled machines each with one or more processingunits so that the number of processing units which require supervisionis two or more, the first step comprises separately'monitoring theoperation of each of a plurality of processing units, and the secondstep comprises separately counting and recording the number ofmalfunctions of each monitored processing unit.

The method may further comprise the additional steps of arresting orslowing down the machine or machines in response to detection of eachmalfunction for an interval of time which is needed to eliminate thecause of malfunction, and recording the length of each interval ofidleness or lower-speed operation. The method then preferably furthercomprises the steps of recording the combined length of intervals ofidleness or lower-speed operation of the machine due to malfunctionswithin a predetermined period of time, e.g., within one or more hours,within a shift, within a period of 24 hours, within a week, or even alonger period of time. It is also desirable to compare the combinedlength of intervals of idleness or lower-speed operation with the lengthof the selected period, e.g., a full shift, to thus determine the ratioof the length of full-speed operation to the combined length ofintervals of idleness of a particular machine or group of machines.

The first step may comprise monitoring the operation of at least oneprocessing unit in each of a plurality of machines which together formpart or constitute a production line for smokers products or forcomponent parts of such products.

The processing units vary from machine to machine, and so does the stepof monitoring their operation to detect malfunctions. Thus, in a filtercigarette making machine, the processing unit which requires monitoringmay be a magazine for storage or feed of prefabricated filter rodsections, a conveyor for one or more rows of prefabricated plaincigarettes, a wrapping or rolling assembly which connects filter tipswith plain cigarettes by means of adhesive-coated uniting bands, atesting assembly for filter cigarettes, a device for feeding of materialwhich is to form uniting bands, a paster or another adhesive applyingdevice, and/or many others. in a cigarette rod making and severingmachine, the processing unit may be a magazine'and a conveyor forwithdrawing shredded tobacco from the magazine, a wrapping unit whichconvolutes a continuous cigarette paper web about a continuous fillerrod consisting of shredded tobacco, splicing device which units anexpiring web of cigarette paper with a fresh web, a drum or anotherconveyor which causes a change in the direction of travel of plaincigarettes, and/or many others.

The processing units which can be monitored in accordance with theimproved method may be built into the aforementioned machines, intoconveyors for stacks of rod-shaped tobacco-containing articles, intomachines for stripping, sorting and otherwise treating tobacco leaves orparts of tobacco leaves prior to introduction into a rod-formingmachine, into a machine for cutting tobacco leaves to form shreds, intoa machine for packing arrays of cigarettes or the like in envelopes toform packs, into a machine for processing packs of cigarettes or thelike, into a machine for the making and processing of filter rods whichare severed to yield filter plugs for cigarettes, cigarillos or cigars,and/or into any combinations of two or more such machines. For example,the method can be employed for the monitoring of complete productionlines consisting of one or more cigarette rod making machines, one ormore filter cigarette making machines and one or more tray fillingmachines or one or more packing machines.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theimproved monitoring apparatus itself, however, both as to itsconstruction and its mode of operation, together with additionalfeatures and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal ofthe following detailed description of certain specific embodiments withreference to the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of aproduction line consisting of live machines for the production andfurther processing of filter cigarettes and of a monitoring apparatuswhich supervises the operation of pro cessing units in the machines andkeeps records of the duration, number and nature of interruptions due toimproper operation of certain processing units in various machinesand/or to the absence of certain materials and commodities;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of a cigarette rod makingmachine which constitutes one machine of the production line shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a distributor forshredded tobacco in the cigarette rod making machine of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side elevational view of a filter cigarette makingmachine which constitutes a second machine of the production line shownin FIG. 1 and is directly coupled to the cigarette rod making machine ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic partly side elevational and partly verticalsectional view of a tray filling machine which constitutes a thirdmachine of the production line shown in FIG. 1 and is directly coupledto the filter cigarette making machine of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a transfer conveyor which constitutesthe fourth machine and of a portion of an endless overhead conveyorwhich constitutes the fifth machine of the production line shown in FIG.I;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a first detector which is used in themonitoring apparatus of FIG. I to scan the operation of a processingunit in the machine of FIG. 2 and/or 4;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view ofa second detector which is used in themonitoring apparatus of FIG. 1 to scan the operation of a secondprocessing unit in the machine of FIG. 2 or in the machine of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a third detector which serves to scan theoperation of a third processing unit in the machine of FIG. 2;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a fourth detector which serves to scanthe operation of a further processing unit in the machine of FIG. 2and/or FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a detector which scans the operation of aprocessing unit in the machine of FIG. 4;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged view ofa detector which scans the operation ofanother processing unit in the machine of FIG. 4;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view ofa detector which scans the operation ofstill another processing unit in the machine of FIG. 4;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged view of a detector which scans the operation of afurther processing unit in the machine of FIG. 4;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of a detector which scans the operation of aprocessing unit in the machine of FIG. 5;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of a detector which scans the operationof'another processing unit in the machine of FIG. 5;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of a detector which is installed in themachine of FIG. 5 but serves to produce signals in response to detectionof improper operation of one or both conveyors shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of a detector which serves to scan theoperation of a processing unit in the transfer conveyor of FIG. 6;

FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of a further detector which is installed inthe machine of FIG. 5 but serves to produce signals in response todetection of improper operation of the transfer conveyor shown in FIG.6;

FIG. 20 is a diagrammatic plan view of a second production line whichincludes the machines of FIGS. 2 and 4 and a packing machine which isdirectly coupled with the filter cigarette making machine, there beingfurther shown a second monitoring apparatus which supervises theoperation of processing units in the machines and keeps records of theduration, number and nature of interruptions due to improper operationof certain units in various machines and/or due to other causes;

FIG. 21 is a schematic side elevational view of the packing machine inthe production line of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of a detail in the machine of FIG. 21,further showing a first detector which scans the operation of aprocessing unit in the packing machine;

FIG. 23 is an enlarged partly perspective view of a second detectorwhich scans the operation of a second processing unit in the packingmachine of FIGS. 20 and 21;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a detail in themachine of FIG. 21 and of a further detector which scans the operationof a third processing unit in the packing machine;

FIG. is a schematic side elevational view of a tobacco cutting machineand of a monitoring apparatus which supervises the operation ofprocessing units in the cutting machine and keeps records indicating thenumber, nature and duration of various interruptions in operation due tofaulty functioning or other causes; and

FIG. 26 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view of a carrierfor orbiting knives in the cutting machine of FIG. 25.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED I EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 illustrates amonitoring or supervising appara tus which is incorporated in aproduction line including a cigarette rod making machine 2M serving toproduce plain cigarettes of unit length which are fed directly into afilter cigarette making machine FA. The filter cigarette which areproduced by the machine FA are tested for the presence or absence ofdefects and the satisfactory filter cigarettes are fed directly into atray filling machine SF which fills chargers or trays with stacks offilter cigarettes. The filled trays are accepted by a transfer conveyorUF which delivers such trays to an endless transporting conveyor KP.

The monitoring or supervising apparatus includes a first set ofdetectors I21, I22, I23 and I24 each of which monitors the operation ofa discrete processing unit of the machine 2M to produce signals inresponse to detection of malfunction of the respective processing unit.Such signals are transmitted by a common conductor LH to motor relays 44and 46 (FIG. 2) and serve to arrest the prime mover (including anelectric motor 39) of the cigarette rod making machine 2M. The signalsfrom the detectors [21-124 are further respectively transmitted to theinputs a of four logical cir cuits of the type known as AND-gates shownat U21, U22, U23 and U24. The inputs b of the AND-gates U21-U24 canreceive signals by way of a common conductor LS; such signals areproduced when the cigarette rod making machine 2M operates at the normal(higher) speed. The outputs c of the AND-gates U21- U24 are respectivelyconnected with the inputs a of conventional signal storing circuits ordevices S21, S22, S23, and S24. The signal storing devices S2l-S24 havesignal erasing inputs b which are connected to and can receive signalsfrom the conductor LS, and outputs c which are respectively connectedwith signal counting circuits or conductors 221,222, 223, 224 and withtime measuring circuits or timers T21, T22, T23, T24. In response to asignal which is transmitted through a conductor LU, the counters 22l-224and the timers TZl-T24 respectively transmit signals to the associatedrecording devices A21, A22, A23, A24. The counters 221-224 areconstructed in such a way that they add up the number of signals whichare transmitted by the outputs c of the associated signal storing device821-824. The timers TZl-TZ4 are designed to total the length ofintervals during which the outputs c of the respective signal storingdevices S2l-S24 transmit signals. The timers T2l-TZ4 may embodyconventional clockworks or commercially available electronic circuitswhich can receive signals at a constant rate as a function of time.

Counters according to those shown at 221-227 are well known and asdescribed, e.g., in the journal Elektronik, 1962, No.6, p. I88.

Timers according to those shown at TZ1-TZ7 are well known and aredescribed, e.g., in the book Handbuch fuer elektrisches Messenmechanischer Groessen by Christoph Rohrbach, 1967, VDI-Verlag-Duesseldorf, on pages 427443.

When the conductor .LU' receives a signal which causes a timer totransmit a signal to the corresponding recording device, the lattermakes a written record of the sum of intervals of transmission ofsignals to such timer from the associated signal storing device.

The monitoring apparatus has a second set of detectors IFl, IF2, IF3,IF4, IFS, IF6, [F7 each of which monitors the operation of a differentprocessing unit in the machine FA and produces a signal when theoperation or condition of the respective processing unit isunsatisfactory. The detectors IFl-IF7 are connected with the motor relay44, 46 of the cigarette rod making machine ZM by way of the conductor LHand can cause the relays to stop the motor 39 in response tomalfunctioning of the corresponding processing units in the machine FA.The detectorsIFl-IF7 are further connected with the inputs a ofAND-gates UFl, UF2, UF3, UF4, UF5, UF6 UF7. The inputs b of theAND-gates UF- lUF7 are connected with the conductor LS to receivesignals when the cigarette rod making machine 2M operates at the normal(higher) speed. The outputs c of the AND-gates UFl-UF7 are respectivelyconnected with the setting inputs a of signal storing devices SFl, SF2,SP3, SF4, SFS, SF6, SF7. The signal storing devices SFl-SF7 have signalerasing inputs b which are connected with the conductor LS and outputs cwhich are respectively connected with the inputs of counters ZFl, ZF2,2F3, 2F4, ZFS, 2F 6, ZF7 and with timers TF1, TF2, TF3, TF4, TF5, TF6,TF7. In response to a signal which is transmitted by way of theconductor LU, the counters ZFl-2F7 and the timers TFl-TF7 respectivelytransmit signals to corresponding recording devices AFl, AF2, AF3, AF4,AFS, AF6, AF7. The counters ZFl-2F7 count the number of signals whichare received from the respective signal storing devices SF 1-SF7 and thetimers TFl-TF7 transmit signals representing the combined length ofintervals of transmission of signals from the outputs c of therespective signal storing devices SFl-SF7. The first detector [F1 forthe filter cigarette making machine FA constitutes the last detector I24for the cigarette rod making machine 2M. Also, the signal storing deviceSFl constitutes the signal storing device S24, the AND-gate U24constitu'tes the AND-gate UFl, the counter ZFl constitutes the counter224, the timer TF1 constitutes the timer T24, and the recording deviceA24 constitutes the recording device AFl.

The monitoring apparatus further comprises detectors [S1 and IS2 each ofwhich monitors the operation of a separate processing unit of the trayfilling machine SF and produces a signal in response to malfunctioningof the respective processing unit. Such signals are transmitted to therelays 44, 46 of the cigarette rod I making machine 2M to cause stoppageof the motor 39. Furthermore, the detectors I81, 182 respectivelytransmit signals to the inputs a of AND-gate US l, USl, US2. TheseAND-gate have second inputs b which are connected with the conductor LSto receive signals when the cigarette rod making machine 2M operates atthe normal or higher speed. The outputs c of the AND-gates U81, U82 arerespectively connected with the setting inputs a of signal storingdevices SS1 and SS2. The signal storing devices SS1, SS2 have signalerasing inputs b which are connected with the conductor LS and outputs cwhich are respectively connected with the inputs of counters 281, 282and with timers T81, T82. When the conductor LU transmits a signal, thecounters ZSl, ZSZ and the timers TSl, TS2 respectively transmit signalsto recording devices A81, A82. The counters 251 and ZS2 respectivelycount the number of signals which appear at the outputs c of the signalstoring devices SS1 and SS2, and the signals from the timers T81 and T82are respectively indicative of the sum of intervals of transmission ofsignals by the signal storing devices SS1 and SS2.

The operation of the tray filling machine SF is further monitored by athird detector 183 which detects the presence or absence of empty traysready to be filled in the machine SF. Though the detector [S3 isprovided in or on the machine SF, it transmits signals which indicatefaulty operation of the endless conveyor KP or of the transfer conveyorUF. Thus, the detector lS3 signals the presence of such malfunctioning(absence of empty trays) which indicates that the operation of thecombination consisting of the cigarette rod making machine ZM, filtercigarette making machine FA and tray filling machine SF must bediscontinued.

The conveyor UF transfers filled trays to the endless conveyor KP andits operation is monitored by two further detectors lUl, [U2 of themonitoring apparatus. Though the detector lU2-is actually mounted on thetray filling machineSF (see FIG. it is functionally related to and canbe said to form part of the monitoring means for the transfer conveyorUP. The detector lUl serves to transmit signals to the input a of anAND- gate US3 which has a second input b connected with the detector 183at the empty-tray station 91 (FIG. 5) of the tray filling machine SF.The detector 183 further transmits signals to the input b of an AND-gateUS"3 which has a second input a connected with the detector lU2. Theoutputs c of the AND-gates US3 and US"3 are respectively connected withthe inputs a of the AND-gates UUl and UU2. The inputs b of the AND-gates UUl, UU2 are connected with the conductor LS.

The outputs c of the AND-gates UUl, UU2 are respectively connected withthe inputs a of signal storing devices SUl, SU2. The signal erasinginputs b of the signal storing devices SUI, SU2 are connected with theconductor LS and the outputs c of the signal storing devices SUl, SU2are respectively connected with the inputs of counters ZUl, ZU2 and withtimers TU l, TU2.

When the conductor LU transmits a signal, the counters ZUl, ZU2 and thetimers TUl, TU2 respectively transmit signals to the correspondingrecording devices AUl, AU2. The signals from the counters ZUl, ZU2represent the number of signals from the signal storing devices SUI,SU2, and the signals from the timers TU 1, TU2 are respectivelyindicative of the combined length of intervals of signal transmission bythe signal storing devices SUI, SU2.

The detectors IUl, lU2 further transmit signals to the inputs of anOR-gate OS1 and by way of this OR-gate to a conductor LH which isconnected with the motor relays of the drive means for the transferconveyor UF.

When the conductor Ll-l' transmits a signal (which is FIGS. 2 and 3illustrate the details of the cigarette rod making machine ZM.Thismachine is of the type known as GARANT produced by Hauni-Werke,Korber & Co. K.G., of Hamburg-Bergedorf, Western Germany. FIG. 3 shows adistributor which serves to I form a continuous narrow stream 13consisting of tobacco shreds and being ready to be trimmed and thereuponwrapped into a web 26 (FIG. 2) of cigarette paper. The distributorcomprises a carded drum 1 which transports tobacco shreds from amagazine la and past a bladed refuser wheel 2 which removes somesurplus. The layer of tobacco shreds which remains on the carding of thedrum 1 is thereupon advanced into the range of a carded refuser wheel 3which removes additional surplus and accumulates a supply 4 consistingof tobacco shreds and being scanned by a photoelectric detector 6 whichcan adjust the position of the first refuser wheel 2 to thus insure thatthe supply 4 contains a predetermined amount of tobacco shreds; Thedetector 6 causes the refuser wheel 2 to move toward the axis of thedrum 1 when the supply 4 increases above and to move away from the axisof the drum 1 when the supply 4 decreases below a predetermined value orrange. A driven picker roller 7 expels tobacco shreds from the cardingof the drum 1 downstream of the second refuser wheel 3, and such shredsare caused to descend into the range of projections on a rapidlyrotating winnower roller 8 which classifies the shreds according toweight. The heavier shreds (such as fragments of stem and ribs) arepropelled into an intercepting receptacle 1 1 and the lighter shreds(mainly fragments of tobacco leaf laminae) are spread onto the upperstretch of an endless belt 9 to form thereon a uniform and relativelywide carpet or sliver 12 which is showered at the discharge end of thebelt descend in a confining chute l4 and to form the aforementionednarrow stream 13. The stream 13 is formed on a narrow endless band 16which is driven to move its upper stretech at right angles to the planeof FIG. 3 and moves above a stationary suction chamber 18 having anairpermeable top wall 17 so that the stream 13 is attracted to the upperstretch of the band 16 by suction.

FIG. 2 shows a suction wheel 19 which is formed with a circumferentialgroove to receive the tobacco stream 13 from the band 16. The bottomwall of the groove in the periphery of the suction wheel 19 isforaminous and travels around a stationary suction chamber (not shown)which causes the tobacco shreds to be attracted to the bottom wall inthe groove of the suction wheel 19 during travel of the tobacco stream13 toward, past and (if necessary) beyond a suitable trimming orequalizing device 21 which removes the surplus of shreds to thus convertthe stream 13 into a filler rod 22;

A separating device or tongue 23' expels or deflects the tiller rod 22from the groove of the suction wheel 19 whereby the tiller rod movesalong the lower stretch of an endless band 24 which travels below astationary suction chamber and transfers the filler rod into thewrapping mechanism of the cigarette rod making machine ZM. This wrappingmechanism serves to provide the filler rod 22 with a tubular wrapperwhich is obtained by suitable deformation of the continuous cigarettepaper web 26. The web 26 is being withdrawn from a supply bobbin 27 andpasses through a splicing device 30 which is adapted to connect thetravelling or expiring web 26 with the leadingend of a fresh web 26astored on a fresh bobbin 27a. The splicingdevice 30 comprises anelectromagnet which is energizable by a detector serving to scan thesupply of expiring web 26 on the bobbin 27. The energized electromagnet25 lifts a lower splicing roller 25a to thereby press the leading end ofthe fresh web 26a against the expiring web 26 and to simultaneouslypress the web 26 against an upper splicing roller 25b. The rollers 25(1, 25b then roll a so-called pressure splice which secures the trailingend of the expiring web 26 to the leading end of the fresh web 26!). Itis clear, however, that the splicing device can be replaced with adifferent splicing device, for example, with a device wherein the twowebs are connected to each other by one or more adhesivecoated unitingbands.

The expiring web 26 is further caused to pass through a conventionalprinting mechanism 28 and passes below the tongue 23 before reaching theupper stretch .of an endless garniture belt 29. The belt 24 advances thefiller rod 22 onto the web 26 on the belt 29, and the marginal portionsof the web 26 are thereupon draped around the rod 22 by a draping device31 of the wrapping mechanism. The device 31 causes one marginal portionof the web 26 to remain exposed and to pass along a suitable paster 32which coats the exposed marginal portion with a strip of adhesive. Thethus coated marginal portion is then caused to overlap and contact theother marginal portion of the web 26 to form a seam which is dried by aheated pressure plate 33 so that the adhesive sets and provides a strongbond. The resulting wrapped filler rod or cigarette rod 34 is severed bya cutoff 36 to yield a file of discrete plain cigarettes of unit length.The successive cigarettes of the file are accelerated by the lobe orlobes of a so-called kicker cam 37 to enter successive axially parallelflutes 38a of a rotary transfer drum 38. The drum 38 converts the singlefile of plain cigarettes Z into two rows of cigarettes which movesideways and are introduced into the filter cigarette making machine FA.

The aforementioned motor 39 of the cigarette rod making machine ZMserves to drive the movable parts of this machine as well as the movableparts of the filter cigarette making machine FA. The motor 39 is anelectric motor which can be started in response to actuation of apushbutton 42 on a control panel of the machine ZM. The circuit of themotor 39 is such that the pushbutton 42 can accelerate the motor to arelatively low first speed. A second pushbutton 43 is depressed by theperson in charge in order to accelerate the motor 39 from the lowerfirst speed to a higher second or normal speed The pushbutton 41 isactuated to arrest the motor 39. As mentioned above, the motor 39 canalso be arrested in response to signals which are transmitted by theconductor LII. When the operator depresses the pushbutton 43 toaccelerate the motor 39 to the normal speed, the conductor LS starts totransmit a signal as long as the motor 39 continues to operate at thehigher speed, namely, as long as the relay 46 remains energized.

FIGS. 2 and 3 further show those processing units of thecigarette rodmaking machine ZM whose operation is monitored by the detectors IZ1-IZ4.The detector I2] is mounted in the magazine 1a of the distributor (FIG.3) to detect the admission of fresh tobacco shreds. The detector 122 isadjacent to the path of the expiring web 26 between the splicing deviceand the printing device 28 and produces a signal in response todetection of the absence of running web. The detector [Z3 scans thewrapped cigarette rod 34 between the pressure plate 33 and the cutoff36. The detector 124 is adjacent to the transfer drum 38 to monitor thedelivery of plain cigarettes Z. The details of the detectors IZI-IZ4will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to FIG. 4 illustrates thedetails of the filter cigarette making machine FA. This machine is ofthe type known as MAX and is produced by Hauni-Werke, Kiirber & Co.K.G., of Hamburg-Bergedorf, Western Germany. The transfer drum 38 of thecigarette rod making machine ZM delivers two rows of plain cigarettes Zof unit length to a pair of aligning drums 52 in the machine FA. Theplain cigarettes Z of one row on the transfer drum 38 are staggered withreference to the cigarettes of the other row and the purpose of thedrums 52 is to move each cigarette of one row into axial alignment witha cigarette of the other row. The thus aligned pairs of cigarettes Zareintroduced into successive flutes of an assembly drum 53 in such a waythat the cigarettes of each pair are separated from each other by a gaphaving a width which at least slightly exceeds the length of a filterplug section of double unit length.

The filter cigarette making machine FA further comprises a magazine orhopper 54 for a stack of prefabricated filter rod sections of six timesunit length which are discharged by way of a chute 54a to entersuccessive flutes of a so-called cutting drum 56 cooperating with twocoaxial rotary disk-shaped knives 57 which sever each filter rod sectionof six times unit length so that each such rod section yields threecoaxial filter rod sections or filter plugs of double unit length. Theplugs are transferred to three staggering drums 58 which move theoriginally coaxial plugs sideways with reference to each other so thatthe plugs are moved out of axial alignment with each other and areintroduced into successive flutes of a shuffling drum 59. The drum 59cooperates with cams 59a to move the plugs axially so that the plugsform a single row which is transferred onto an intermediate drum 61. Thedrum 61 delivers the plugs into successive flutes of an acceleratingdrum 62 which introduces such plugs into the gaps between successivepairs of plain cigarettes Z in the flutes of the assembly drum 53. Thedrum 53 moves the resulting assemblies (each of which consists of twoplain cigarettes Z and a filter plug between the respective plaincigarettes) along one or more condensing cams 53a which cause at leastone plain cigarette Z of each assembly to move axially toward the otherplain cigarette whereby the assemblies are condensed so that the innerends of the plain cigarette Z abut against the respective ends of thefilter plug therebetween. The thus condensed assemblies are transferredonto an intermediate drum 63 which moves the assemblies past a suctiondrum 69 serving to provide each assembly with an adhesive-coated unitingband. The uniting bands are obtained by severing the leading end of aweb or tape 65 which is being withdrawn from a bobbin 64 and is causedto pass through the nip between two advancing rolls 66, 67. The tape 65thereupon advances along a paster 68 having a roller-shaped applicator68a which coats the underside of the tape 65 with a film of adhesive.The tape 65 thereupon reaches the suction drum 69 which cooperates withthe blades of a rotary knife 71 to sever the tape 65 at regularintervals in order to form adhesive-coated uniting bands which areattached to the assemblies in the flutes of the intermediate conveyor63. Each of the thus attached uniting bands adheres to the respectivefilter plug and to the adjacent inner ends of the corresponding plaincigarettes.

The resulting groups (each consisting of a filter plug, two plaincigarettes Z and an adhesive-coated uniting band) are thereupontransferred onto a rolling or wrapping drum 72 which cooperates with astationary rolling member 73 to rotate successive groups about theiraxes and to thus convolute the uniting bands around the respectivefilter plugs and the adjacent inner ends of the corresponding plaincigarettes. Thus, each group is converted into a filter cigarette ofdouble unit length.

The filter cigarettes of double unit length are transferred onto atesting drum 74 whereon the cigarettes are tested for the presence orabsence of defects. A suitable ejector device 226 (see FIG. 14)segregates satisfactory cigarettes from defective cigarettes. Thesatisfactory cigarettes are transferred onto a cutting drum 76 whichcooperates with a rotary disk-shaped knife 76a to sever each filtercigarette of double unit length midway between its ends to form pairs offilter cigarettes of unit length. Each filter cigarette of unit lengthconsists of a plain cigarette, a filter plug of unit length, andone-half of a uniting band which is convoluted around the filter plugand the adjacent end portion of the plain cigarette.

The two rows of filter cigarettes of unit length are thereupontransferred onto an inverting drum 77 which inverts the cigarettes ofone row end-for-end and preferably places the inverted cigarettesbetween the cigarettes of the other row to'form a single row of filtercigarettes which are transferred onto an intermediate drum 78 prior totransfer onto a second testing drum 79 which tests the density of theexposed ends of tobacco fillers and cooperates with an ejector whichsegregates the defective filter cigarettes from satisfactory cigarettes.A transfer drum 8] delivers satisfactory filter cigarettes onto one ormore endless belts 82 for delivery to the tray filling machine, SF.

The moving parts of the filter cigarette machine FA receive motion fromthe motor 39 of the cigarette rod making machine ZM.

The detectors IFl to IF7 which monitor the operation of discreteprocessing units in the filter cigarette machine FA are distributed asfollows:

The detector lFl (which can but need not constitute the detector IZ4 ofthe machine ZM) is adjacent to the transfer drum 38 to monitor thedelivery of plain cigarettes Z of unit length to the machine FA. Thedetector [F2 is adjacent to the path of the tape 65 which is to besevered to yield uniting bands. The detector IF3 scans the supply ofpaste in the tank. 177 of the paster 68. The detector IF4 is adjacent tothe chute 54a of the maga- Zinc 54 to monitor the feed of filter rods ofsix times unit length to the cutting drum 56. The detector IFS isadjacent to the inlet of the rolling gap 201 (see FIG. 12) between thedrum 72 and the stationary rolling member 73 to detect eventual pileupsof groups. The detector IF6 is adjacent to the rolling drum 72downstream of the rolling member 73 to scan the filter cigarettes ofdouble unit length. The detector IF6 is designed to detect the absenceof filter cigarettes of double unit length. The detector IF7 is adjacentto the testing drum 74 and is designed to produce signals in response todetection of a certain number of successive defective filter cigarettesof double unit length. The de tails of the detectors [F1 to IF7 areshown in FIGS. 7, 9, 10,11, 12, 13 and 14.

A tray filling machine SF which can be used in the production line ofFIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 5. This machine is of the type known as CASCADEand is produced by Hauni-Werke of H'amburg-Bergedorf, Western Germany.The machine SF comprises a first station 91 for storage of empty trays92 which are held in readiness for transport toward, past and beyond atray filling station 98. The means for moving the empty trays 92 off thestation 91 comprises a combined lifting and transporting mechanism 93receiving motion from a drive 94. The mechanism 93 advances successiveempty trays 92 sideways (in a directionto the left, as viewed in FIG.5), and delivers them onto a chain conveyor 97 which receives motionfrom a drive 96 and causes the trays to descend stepwise. The trayfilling station 98 is adjacent to the path of trays 92 with the chainconveyor 97. The aforementioned endless belts 82 of the filter cigarettemaking machine FA deliver a single row of filter cigarettes 99- of unitlength to the station 98 and such cigarettes are picked up by apneumatic row former 103. The cigarettes 99 on the belts 82 movesideways in a direction at right angles to the plane of FIG. 5, and theunderside of the row former 103 is provided with parallel flutes orreceiving means 102 which receive filter cigarettes 99 and accumulaterows or layers containing predetermined numbers of such cigarettes. Whenthe row former 103 completes the formation of a layer or row, it islifted above and away from the upper stretches of the belts 82 and therow is thereupon removed from the flutes 102 a direction to the right;as'viewed in FIG. 5, to be transferred into the adjacent tray 92 whichis at a standstill whenever a fresh row is caused to leave the flutes102. The construction of the row former 103 is disclosed, for example,in US. Pat. No. 3,519,143 issued July 7, 1970 to Kochalski et al. Thisrow former has a suction chamher 106 which is connected with the flutes102 by channels 104 and insures that the row former can accumulate a rowof closely adjacent filter cigarettes 99 which can be properly stackedin the adjacent tray 92. The means for moving the row former 103 up anddown comprises a drive 107. The means for transferring rows of filtercigarettes 99 from the flutes 102 (in raised position of the row former103) into the adjacent tray 92 on the chain conveyor 97 comprises areciprocable transfer member or pusher 109 which receives motion from adrive 108. The operation of the drive 108 is synchronized with that ofthe drive 107 for the row former 103. The cigarettes 99 of the row whichis being transferred from the flutes 102 of the row former 103 passthrough suitable guide means or mouthpieces 111 and are deposited in theadjacent tray 92 on top of the previously transferred row. The drive 96thereupon causes the conveyor 97 to lower the tray 92 by a step so as toprovide room for the delivery of a fresh row. Thelength of each step isslightly less than the diameter of a filter cigarette 99. The row former103 accumulates a fresh row while the tray 92 at the station 98descends, and the drive 107 thereupon lifts the row former with afreshly formed row in the flutes 102 before the drive 108 causes thepusher 109 to perform the next-working stroke and to push the fresh rowof filter cigarettes 99 through the mouthpieces 111 and into the tray 92where the fresh row comes to rest on the preceding row, preferably insuch a way that the cigarettes in suc-

1. In a structure of the character indicated, particularly in a machineor production line for the treatment of tobacco and other commoditiesemployed in connection with the manufacture of smokers'' products, acombination comprising at least one processing unit which is prone tomalfunction, said one processing unit forming part of a machine for theproduction and transport of an at least substantially continuous streamof commodities; automatic detector means arranged to monitor theoperation of said one processing unit and having signal generating meansfor producing signals in response to detection of irregularities in saidstream, said irregularities being the result of pileups of saidcommodities; counter means for counting the signals produced by saidsignal generating means; and recording means for recording the number ofthe thus counted signals.
 2. In a structure of the character indicated,particularly in a machine or production line for the treatment oftobacco and other commodities employed in connection with themanufacture of smokers'' products, a combination comprising at least oneprocessing unit which is prone to malfunction, said one processing unitforming part of a machine for the production and transport of an atleast substantially continuous stream of commodities; automatic detectormeans arranged to monitor the operation of said one processing unit andhaving signal generating means for producing signals in response todetection of irregularities in said stream, said irregularities beingthe result of periodic absence of commodities; counter means forcounting the signals produced by said signal generating means; andrecording means for recording the number of the thus counted signals. 3.In a structure of the character indicated, particularly in a machine orproduction line for the treatment of tobacco and other commoditiesemployed in connection with the manufacture of smokers'' products, acombination comprising at least one processing unit which is prone tomalfunction, said one processing unit forming part of a machine for theproduction and transport of an at least substantially continuous streamof commodities; automatic detector means arranged to monitor theoperation of said one processing unit and having signal generating meansarranged to produce signals in response to detection of a predeterminednumber of irregularities in said stream; counter means for counting thenumber of signals produced by said signal generating means; andrecording means for recording the number of the thus counted signals. 4.In a structure of the character indicated, particularly in a machine orproduction line for the treatment of tobacco and other commoditiesemployed in connection with the manufacture of smokers'' prOducts, acombination comprising at least one processing unit which is prone tomalfunction and includes at least one element which is subject to wear;automatic detector means arranged to monitor the operation of said oneprocessing unit and having signal generating means for producing signalsin response to detection of a predetermined wear upon said one element;counter means for counting the signals produced by said signalgenerating means; and recording means for recording the number of thethus counted signals.
 5. In a structure of the character indicated,particularly in a machine or production line for the treatment oftobacco or other commodities employed in connection with the manufactureof smokers'' products, a combination comprising at least one processingunit including at least one element which is subject to breakage;automatic detector means arranged to monitor the operation of said oneprocessing unit and having signal generating means for producing signalsin response to breakage of said one element counter means for countingthe signals produced by said signal generating means; and recordingmeans for recording the number of the thus counted signals.
 6. In astructure of the character indicated, particularly in a machine orproduction line for the treatment of tobacco and other commoditiesemployed in connection with the manufacture of smokers'' products, acombination comprising at least one processing unit forming part of amachine for the production of rod-shaped articles and being prone tomalfunction; automatic detectors means arranged to monitor the operationof said one processing unit and having signal generating means forproducing signals in response to detection of irregularities in theproduction, quality and/or transport rod-shaped articles; counter meansfor counting the signals produced by said signal generating means; andrecording means for recording the number of the thus counted signals. 7.In a structure of the character indicated, particularly in a machine orproduction line for the treatment of tobacco and other commoditiesemployed in connection with the manufacture of smokers'' products, acombination comprising at least one processing unit forming part of amachine for the production of filter-tipped smokers'' products and beingprone to malfunction; automatic detectors means arranged to monitor theoperation of said one processing unit and having signal generating meansfor producing signals in response to detection of malfunctions of saidone processing unit; counter means for counting the signals produced bysaid signal generating means; and recording means for recording thenumber of the thus counted signals.
 8. In a structure of the characterindicated, particularly in a machine or production line for thetreatment of tobacco and other commodities employed in connection withthe manufacture of smokers'' products, a combination comprising at leastone processing unit forming part of a machine for stacking of rod-shapedtobacco-containing articles in containers and being prone tomalfunction; automatic detector means arranged to monitor the operationof said one processing unit and having signal generating means forproducing signals in response to detection of malfunctions of said oneunit; counter means for counting the signals produced by said signalgenerating means; and recording means for recording the number of thethus counted signals.
 9. In a structure of the character indicated,particularly in a machine or production line for the treatment oftobacco and other commodities employed in connection with themanufacture of smokers'' products, a combination comprising at least oneprocessing unit forming part of a conveying machine for transportingcommodities between a pair of additional machines and being prone tomalfunction; automatic detector means arranged to monitor the operationof said one processing unit and having signal generating means forproducing signals in response to detecTion of malfunctions of said oneunit; counter means for counting the signals produced by said signalgenerating means; and recording means for recording the number of thethus counted signals.
 10. In a structure of the character indicated,particularly in a machine or production line for the treatment oftobacco and other commodities employed in connection with themanufacture of smokers'' products, a combination comprising at least oneprocessing unit forming part of a packing machine for tobacco-containingarticles and being prone to malfunction; automatic detector meansarranged to monitor the operation of said one processing unit and havingsignal generating means for producing signals in response to detectionof malfunctions of said one processing unit; counter means for countingthe signals produced by said signal generating means; and recordingmeans for recording the number of the thus counted signals.
 11. In astructure of the character indicated, particularly in a machine orproduction line for the treatment of tobacco and other commoditiesemployed in connection with the manufacture of smokers'' products, acombination comprising at least one processing unit forming part of atobacco cutting machine and being prone to malfunction; automaticdetector means arranged to monitor the operation of said one processingunit and having signal generating means for producing signals inresponse to detection of malfunctions of said one processing unit;counter means for counting the signals produced by said signalgenerating means; and recording means for recording the number of thethus counted signals.
 12. In a structure of the character indicated,particularly in at least one machine or in a production line for thetreatment of tobacco or other commodities employed in connection withthe manufacture of smokers'' products, a combination comprising at leastone processing unit which is prone to malfunction; automatic detectormeans arranged to monitor the operation of said one processing unit todetect malfunctions thereof; signal generating means for producingmalfunction signals in response to detection of malfunctions by saidautomatic detector means; counter means for counting said malfunctionsignals produced by said signal generating means; and recording meansfor recording the number of the thus counted malfunction signals.
 13. Acombination as defined in claim 12, wherein said one processing unitcomprises means for feeding a commodity at a predetermined rate and saiddetector means comprises means for producing signals in response todetection of a deviation of the rate of feed of said commodity from saidpredetermined rate.
 14. A combination as defined in claim 12, whereinsaid one processing unit comprises means for transporting a series ofcommodities at a predetermined frequency and said detector meanscomprises means for producing signals in response to detection of adeviation of the frequency of transport of said series of commoditiesfrom said predetermined frequency.
 15. A combination as defined in claim12, wherein said one processing unit forms part of a machine for theproduction and transport of an at least substantially continuous streamof commodities and said detector means comprises signal generating meansfor producing said signals in response to detection of irregularities insaid stream.
 16. A combination as defined in claim 12, wherein said oneprocessing unit forms part of a production line which further comprisesat least one additional processing unit, and further comprisingadditional automatic detector means, signal generating means and countermeans for said additional processing unit.
 17. A combination as definedin claim 16, further comprising additional recording means for saidadditional processing unit.
 18. A combination as defined in claim 12,further comprising means for automatically arresting the machine whichembodies said one processing unit in response to said malfunctionsigNals to allow for elimination of causes of malfunction of said oneprocessing unit, and timer means actuatable by said signals andoperative to measure the length of the intervals of idleness of saidmachine.
 19. A combination as defined in claim 18, wherein said timermeans includes means for transmitting second signals representing thelength of said intervals of idleness of said machine and said recordingmeans comprises summing means for making in response to said secondsignals a record of the sum of said intervals of idleness of saidmachine within a predetermined period of time.
 20. A combination asdefined in claim 19, further comprising ratio forming means operativelyconnected with said summing means of said recording means for comparingthe sum of said intervals of idleness of said machine within saidpredetermined period of time with the length of said predeterminedperiod.
 21. A method of supervising one or more processing units of aplurality of processing units which are prone to malfunction,particularly one or more processing units of a plurality of processingunits which constitute components of one or more machines for thetreatment of tobacco and other commodities employed in the manufactureof smokers'' products and form part of a production line, comprising thefirst step of automatically separately monitoring the operation ofseveral of said plurality of processing units to detect the malfunctionsof said one processing unit and generating a malfunction signal inresponse to each of said detected malfunctions; the second step ofautomatically separately counting the number of the thus generatedmalfunction signals, and the third step of thereafter automaticallyrecording the number of said thus counted malfunction signals of each ofsaid several processing units.
 22. A method of supervising one or moreprocessing units of a plurality of processing units which are prone tomalfunction, particularly one or more processing units of a plurality ofprocessing units which constitute components of one or more machines forthe treatment of tobacco and other commodities employed in themanufacture of smokers'' products, comprising the first step ofautomatically monitoring the operation of at least one of said pluralityof processing units to detect the malfunctions of said one processingunit and generating a malfunction signal in response to each of saiddetected malfunctions; the second step of automatically counting thenumber of the thus generated malfunction signals; the third step ofautomatically recording the number of said malfunction signals; and thestep of arresting the machine which embodies said one processing unit inresponse to detection of each malfunction for an interval of time whichis needed to eliminate the cause of malfunction, and recording thelength of each interval.
 23. A method as defined in claim 22, furthercomprising the step of recording the combined length of intervals ofidleness of the machine due to malfunctions within a predeterminedperiod of time.
 24. A method as defined in claim 23, further comprisingthe step of automatically comparing the combined length of saidintervals with the length of said period.
 25. A method of supervising atleast two machines for the treatment of tobacco and other commoditiesemployed in the manufacture of smokers'' products which form part of aproduction line, each of said machines including at least one processingunit which is prone to malfunction, comprising the steps ofautomatically monitoring the operation of at least one processing unitof one of said machines to detect the malfunctions of said oneprocessing unit and generating a malfunction signal in response to eachof said detected malfunctions; automatically monitoring the operation ofat least one processing unit of another of said machines to detect themalfunctions of said last mentioned processing unit and generating amalfunction signal in response to each of said detected malfunctioNs ofsaid last mentioned processing unit; automatically counting the numberof the thus detected malfunction signals; and automatically recordingthe number of said thus automatically detected and counted malfunctionsignals.